


it's easy (when i'm with you)

by falsealarm



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/F, Fluff and Smut, Food Porn, Getting Together, Oral Sex, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-15
Updated: 2017-03-24
Packaged: 2018-09-24 13:31:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 17,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9738518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/falsealarm/pseuds/falsealarm
Summary: She’s been jittery all week, unfocused and easily irritable. More than once Alex has asked her what’s wrong but there’s no easy way to sayI accidentally kissed Lena Luthor and I can’t stop thinking about it.(A series of mostly domestic drabbles for a budding relationship.)





	1. dinner

**Author's Note:**

> This fic will essentially just be me trying to organize a bunch of separate ideas for these two into a cohesive domestic fluff/smut/comfy love kind of thing. I just want Kara and Lena to be happy together, okay? And also to bang but the banging is later, SORRY FRIENDS.
> 
> Don't think I'll be mentioning canon much at all so don't worry abt that.
> 
> Much love to my kapow babes for listening to me yammer on abt this when I did.

She knows it’s a mistake as soon as she does it.

Lena goes stock still against her, the pressure at Kara’s lips the only indication that they’ve made contact. The connection garners no outward reaction: Lena doesn’t jerk away, doesn’t move to push _Kara_ away but her heartbeat ticks up slightly and that alone makes Kara’s heart plummet into her stomach.

This was _such_ a no good, awful, horrible mistake.

Lena’s eyelashes flutter against Kara’s cheek as she blinks, once, twice and then Kara feels the delicate tug of Lena’s lipstick at her skin as she moves away. She steps back just enough that Kara can see the gentle contraction of her irises, the confusion in them and her eyes are so bright up close, Kara can barely look at her straight on. The perfect arch of her eyebrow is raised but she doesn’t look disgusted, curious maybe and Kara can see a question forming in the furrow of her brow but when she opens her mouth all Kara hears is:

“Goodnight, Kara.”

Then she’s out the door, closing it behind herself and Kara wants to fling herself into the sun.

 

\---

 

They don’t speak for five whole days. No texts, no calls, no surprise run-ins at Noonan’s and Kara thinks she might be going crazy. She’s practically vibrating with excess energy, knees bouncing under her desk as she tries to sort through her emails. Things get labelled, relabeled and Kara tries adding more bullet points to her to-do list but she can’t concentrate, her thoughts sliding too easily to the sense memory of Lena’s lips, the flutter of her heartbeat.

She’s been jittery all week, unfocused and easily irritable. More than once Alex has asked her what’s wrong but there’s no easy way to say _I accidentally kissed Lena Luthor and I can’t stop thinking about it_. She _could_ say just that but the details would betray her almost immediately. As much as Kara has been trying to pretend the kiss was an “accident” the head turn that made it possible was wholly intentional. A spur of the moment idea that skipped every logically-inclined portion of Kara’s brain and sent the coordinating impulses straight to her nerve endings. It was a deliberate decision. A bad one, probably, _definitely_ but she did it and now she has to live with the consequences.

Consequences that have, so far, manifested as Kara daydreaming apology scenarios that, very quickly, get replaced by _kissing_ scenarios. The former have yet to come to a satisfying conclusion and the latter almost always leave Kara a little hot under the collar.

“Ponytail!”

Kara’s head swivels to the right and Snapper is standing at the end of the hall, a file folder in his hand. She shoots up from her chair, tries not to trip over the edge of her desk as she rounds it. “Yes, sir?”

“You still bosom buddies with Lena Luthor?”

 

\---

 

Jess makes her wait outside while Lena finishes up her call. Kara’s still vibrating with nerves, knees bouncing the open file folder in her lap as she tries to speed read through it. She barely knows what this article is for but Snapper insisted it was time-sensitive so Kara had fled CatCo immediately. The flight over had been calming, the cold air against her skin, the horizon steady before her but as soon as she’d climbed into the elevator at L Corp her gut had started churning. She’s had five days to plan, five days to consider her options, to play out scenarios in her head but none of them have panned out. Should she start with the apology? Or would that be weird? Showing up five days later to apologize in person for a kiss that Kara’s regreting less and less with every second definitely sounds weird in her head.

“You can go in now.” Kara startles at Jess’s voice but she stands quickly and offers a small smile, a quiet thank you. Jess escorting Kara into Lena’s office is a gesture long abandoned but with her stomach the tangled mess it is Kara almost wishes she could have Jess as her silent back up just one more time as she pushes through the door to Lena’s office.

“Kara, I wasn’t expecting you.”

Lena’s smile hits her eyes and all notions of apologies slip swiftly from Kara’s mind. She doesn’t regret that kiss, she was never really going to.

“Sorry, Snapper gave me a last-minute piece and I need a quote from you, if that’s okay?”

“Of course, what’s the article about?”

But just because Kara doesn’t regret the kiss doesn’t mean she still isn’t a raging ball of nervous energy. She nearly dumps her papers onto Lena’s desk as she sits down, her bag snagging on the edge of the chair. She catches herself at the last second, looks up with apologies and a nervous smile as she presses the files against her chest and sits down. “Sorry, um,” she opens the folder again, tries to smooth out the creases she’s just made in the top couple pages. “Wayne Industries, they’re,” Kara riffles through the folder for the page she needs, the one with the _notes_ she’d taken on what Snapper needed. Out of the corner of her eye she sees Lena tilt forward, sees a flicker of something flash across her face. Kara can’t quite place the emotion but it’s familiar enough to knot her stomach up a little tighter.

She finds her paper, slides it on top of the pile, reads verbatim the question Snapper needs and then immediately below it sees a note saying “do not ask directly” and freezes. She chances a glance up, finds Lena’s fingers steepled in front of her, her brow furrowed.

“No, sorry, um.” She tries to backpedal but Lena interrupts.

“Kara, are you alright?”

“Am I- am I alright?” Kara pushes her glasses up her nose and laughs, breathy and hot and completely forced. The furrow in Lena’s brow deepens. “I’m fine, totally,” Kara looks down at her notes, smooths out the top page again with both hands, “definitely fine.”

“I was going to call you,” Lena starts and Kara immediately looks back up and oh Kara feels like maybe she could drown in the sea blue of her eyes. “I had business in China, I only just got back last night.”

“Oh,” Kara’s voice is quiet, small.

Lena’s eyes flick down to Kara’s lips then back up like she’s about to say something else but then a loud buzzing erupts from Kara’s bag. The twinkling of a ringtone follows and Kara’s eyes go wide as she reaches down to grab it. A picture of Alex flashes across her screen, “Sorry, it’s my sister, can I-?”

Kara answers as soon as Lena nods. Alex starts off with an apology, switches to an excuse, says something about Maggie then apologizes again and Kara doesn’t realize she’s cancelling their dinner plans until she says, “ _I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?_ ”

“Oh, okay.” Then Alex hangs up and Kara looks down at her phone, tries to piece together what exactly Alex’s actual excuse was but the only thing she really caught was _Maggie_.

“Kara?”

Kara’s still staring down at her phone, barely hears Lena’s voice. “Hmm?”

“How about now?”

“How about now what?”

“Are you alright now?”

“Oh.” Kara feels the thick sludge of tension in her body then. Her clenched jaw, the tautness in her shoulders, her neck. She tries to relax, lets out a small huff of breath. “Oh yeah, I’m fine, she just- cancelled our dinner plans.”

“That’s a shame.”

“We were gonna try this new place on Market, we’ve been trying to go for a couple weeks but Alex was always busy,” Kara pauses, clicks off her screen, “I guess she’s still busy.” Kara feels something like resentment in her stomach, hot and unwelcome as it bats at her insides. When she looks up again Lena’s watching her with kind eyes, concern stitched in space between her brows and Kara has another small idea, feels herself speaking it before she’s really thought it through. “Would you want to go with me instead?”

“To dinner?”

“I mean if you’re free.” There’s a rumbling of regret in Kara’s stomach now, the resentment completely bowled over by a wave of panic because it is very possible she’s just asked Lena on a date. She’s rambling before she can stop herself: “I’m sure you’re busy though, so it’s fine if you can’t. No big deal, I can just reschedule with Alex for next week probably-.”

“I’m not, actually.”

Kara stops, blinks, “You’re not?”

Lena’s still watching her but there’s a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips now. “When were you thinking?”

“6? Or 7 or 5, whenever you want.”

Lena turns to the clock on the wall and Kara’s eyes follow. It’s already past five, rounding to six. Kara hadn’t realized the time at all. “How about now?”

“Like right now? You’re not, don’t you have something to finish up?”

“That call was the last on my schedule. I’m yours for the evening, Ms. Danvers.” Her smile is bolder now, a little mischievous too and the knots in Kara’s stomach tighten again.

“Oh, good, awesome, great.” Kara stands before she’s ready and the pile of papers on her lap falls to the ground in a widespread fluttering. “Shoot,” Kara says softly. She’s quick to her knees, sweeping up her papers and piling them up as best she can.

“Clumsy today, aren’t we?”

She sees the tips of Lena’s shoes first, edging just into Kara’s line of sight and Kara looks up to find Lena standing just ahead of her, a single sheet of paper in an extended hand. She’s backlit by the evening light streaming in through the window, her outline a yellow-gold glimmer. Kara’s heart does a small somersault.

“Guess it’s just one of those days,” Kara says through a blustery laugh as she stands, taking the paper. She shoves the entire folder inelegantly into her bag as Lena moves towards the door. She’s already got her purse in hand.

“Ready?”

When Lena dismisses Jess for the night she nods like she agrees but not like she understands. Then a few heads perk up as they make their way to the elevator, a smattering of confusion and relief, maybe, on their faces that Kara can’t make heads or tails of. When they get to the hall Lena presses the down button then herself into Kara’s arm.

“They’ve never seen me leave the office before them.” Her tone is conspiratorial, low and a little breathy as she whispers and Kara unconsciously leans in to hear her better. She smells like sandalwood, the scent of her perfume still clinging to the collar of her blouse. Kara’s answering “oh” gets swallowed by the ding of the elevator.

They stand close enough in the elevator that more than once Kara feels the gentle brush of Lena’s knuckles against the back of her hand. It’s soft enough to be a mistake but often enough that Kara has the sudden urge to _hold_ Lena’s hand in return. The elevator opens before she can decide what to do then Lena is out into the lobby, looking over her shoulder at Kara with a warm smile.

“We can take my car,” she says as Kara finally manages to exit the elevator, “but it’s a nice day out, I wouldn’t mind the walk.”

“Walk?” Kara jogs a little to catch up. “Yeah, we could totally walk.”

 

\---

 

They spend the walk over inches apart, shoulders grazing and Kara gets a warm jolt of something in her chest every time Lena looks at her. It’s Lena that remembers the quote Kara was supposed to get, makes Kara pull out her phone to grab an audio file she can send off to Snapper. Once it’s sent Lena makes Kara promise their night is off the record. It’s a joke, surely, because Lena knows Kara would never use their friendship like that but there’s hesitancy in Lena’s voice, a quiet pleading and it stabs at Kara’s heart.

Kara makes sure to smile when she promises and Lena looks relieved, touches Kara’s forearm gently as she smiles back.

When they round the corner to the restaurant there’s already a small group of people waiting outside. Kara knows this doesn’t bode well. She opens the door for Lena, tries not to blush when Lena says, “how chivalrous.”

“How many in your party?” The hostess asks, tablet in hand.

“Just two,” Kara answers quickly.

“Okay, two people, that’s,” the hostess taps a couple times on her tablet, looks back up at Kara with a smile that seems almost apologetic but not sincere, “okay our current wait time is an hour and a half.”

“ _An hour and a half?_ ” Kara’s voice is dripping with disbelief and disappointment quickly starts settling into the pit of her stomach.

“Fridays are always our busiest nights,” the hostess answers like it’s something Kara should know, like it’s something _everyone_ should know.

“That’s,” Kara takes a small step back and almost bumps into Lena, turns around with an apology. “I didn’t realize it was Friday,” Kara says sheepishly.

The hostess has already forgotten about them, is calling over Kara’s shoulder to the people just behind them and Kara feels pressure at her wrist, looks down to see Lena’s hand loose around it. She tugs Kara a little, softly directing her to the side so a group of people can get out the door next to them.

“You go wait outside, I think I can work something out for us.”

“Work something out?”

“I know the chef.”

“ _You know the chef?_ ” Kara’s voice gets a little too loud and a couple patrons look their way.

Lena laughs, a warm huff of a thing that lands against Kara’s lips and Kara instinctively looks down, watches Lena’s mouth as she speaks again: “Sometimes it pays to be a Luthor.” She squeezes Kara’s wrist gently and that jolts Kara enough to make eye contact again. “Go wait outside, I’ll be right out.”

She lets go of Kara and turns back to the hostess desk without another word. Kara lets herself be swept up in another small group leaving the restaurant but she stops just outside, watches through the windows as Lena snags the hostess’s attention again. She leans in to say something and Kara tunes into the sound of Lena’s voice without thinking.

“ _Have him pick out whatever he thinks we’ll like.”_

_“Yes, Ms. Luthor.”_

_“We’ll be waiting outside.”_

_“I’ll tell him right away.”_

Kara can guess at the first half of the conversation but she’s still asking Lena what’s happened as soon as she makes it outside. “What did you do?”

“I threw my weight around.”

“You didn’t have to do that.”

“I don’t do it often, Kara, you’re lucky I like you so much.”

“You like me?”

Lena’s smile is playful, “of course I _like_ you, Kara.” There’s a little weight to the word “like” and Kara feels the timbre of it in her chest. “Don’t you like me?”

“Of course,” Kara echoes quickly and Lena’s smile gets a little wider but Kara is quick to add in, “we’re friends.”

Lena’s smile doesn’t change, wholly undeterred by the qualifier of their friendship and, for just a moment, Kara lets hope tug gently at her heart.

 

\---

 

The food is ready not twenty minutes later and Kara’s never been more thankful to see food in her life. She tries not to lunge for the bag, accepts it with a series of thank yous and a gracious smile as Lena moves inside after the hostess to settle the bill, putting a hand up to deny Kara’s pitiful reach for her wallet.

As soon as Lena’s out of sight Kara’s nose deep in the bag, breathing in the scent of perfectly spiced beef? Or is it pork? She definitely smells chives and paprika and is on the edge of identifying another something when she hears:

“Hungry, are we?”

“Starved,” Kara answers, “this smells amazing.”

“We can eat at my place, it’s just a few blocks up.”

Lena gestures up the street and Kara’s gaze follows like she’ll be able to pinpoint Lena’s apartment from where they are. She looks back at Lena when she realizes she can’t and Lena’s smiling at her again, small and hopeful.

Kara nods her head, smiles back, “That would be nice.”

 

\---

 

Lena’s apartment is so much warmer than her office. It’s tastefully modern but not overwhelmingly so, sleek lines and neutral warm tones. The walls are white-painted brick, the floors a honey brown wood and every fabric in sight looks comfortable to the touch. Kara doesn’t know what she was expecting but suddenly the space feels terribly intimate and she stops just inside the door, almost afraid to take any step further inside.

“Kitchen’s to the left.” Lena’s shut the door behind them. She sets her purse down, toes off her shoes just next to Kara before she pads into the kitchen. When Kara doesn’t move Lena looks back at her curiously, “Kara?”

Kara shakes her head gently, focuses in on the sound of Lena’s voice and finds her standing behind the long stretch of her kitchen island, hands pressed flat to marble. “Sorry, it’s just-.”

“Not what you expected?”

Kara nods as she walks, sets the bag of food down carefully on the counter and tries not to be so obvious as she looks around again. “It looks- lived in.”

“I feel like I should take offense at that,” Lena starts and Kara turns to her quickly, an apology on the tip of her tongue but Lena continues before she can speak. “But I understand why you’d think it wouldn’t. I am a self-admitted workaholic.”

“No,” Kara butts in, “well yes, but I meant your office is so-.”

“Sterile?” Lena’s making short work of unpacking their food, setting up the containers in a straight line against the edge of the counter.

Kara shakes her head, “I wouldn’t use that word.”

“But you were thinking it.”

“Maybe?”

Lena laughs, “it’s fine, Kara. I work better in a clean environment. Less distractions make for better work. But I like to come home to a place that _feels_ like home.”

“It’s definitely homey,” Kara says with a smile.

“I’m glad you like it, I’ve actually never had anyone over before.”

“I’m your first guest?”

“My one and only.” Kara swears she catches the tail end of a wink and it sets loose something warm and fluttery against her ribs.

Lena gets them plates, offers Kara wine and gets her water when she declines but pours a glass for herself. They fill their plates and Kara looks briefly to the dining table but it’s scattered with papers and books and Lena apologizes for the mess, has them sit at the kitchen island instead. They lapse into a comfortable silence as they eat and Kara thinks, two bites into her dinner, that it’s possible she’s never had anything more delicious in her entire life.

She also hasn’t eaten in a few hours but that’s beside the point.

Small talk comes eventually but it’s mostly Kara waxing on about the food, what it reminds her of, how she may never eat this well again. Lena laughs at her between bites, gingerly sips at her wine as Kara goes on about the restaurants she’s got left to check off her ever-growing list of Yelp discoveries. Lena’s been to a few and Kara is quick to grill her on the menu, what she liked, what she didn’t. Lena gives Kara every detail she asks for and even offers to help her make reservations if she has trouble. Kara honestly can’t believe this night is going so well.

Which, of course, means that something needs to go wrong.

The wrong starts as a right: Lena tipping her head back to finish her wine and Kara awestruck by the line of her neck. So awestruck, in fact, that she drops a bite of her very saucy dinner right onto her shirt. It bounces once before toppling into her lap, leaving a bright trail of sauce in its wake. Kara lets loose a strangled curse word in Kryptonian as she scoops up the offending bite and puts it back on her plate. Her napkin had been in her lap but it’s mysteriously disappeared and Kara turns to look for it, her stool squeaking as she does. Lena stops her mid-turn with a hand flat on Kara’s thigh, turning Kara back to face her.

“Come here.” Then she’s scooting forward on her stool, knees bumping against Kara’s as she brings her own napkin up to Kara’s shirt. She works carefully, napkin in one hand and the other steady at Kara’s thigh to balance herself as she leans forward. Kara’s holding every part of herself still, afraid to even twitch because Lena is so close that Kara can literally count her eyelashes.

“You know,” Lena’s reached the hem of Kara’s shirt, moves slowly to wipe at the last offending spot on Kara’s thigh, “there are easier ways to get me to touch you, Kara.”

“Easier ways-,” Kara echoes softly.

“You could just ask.”

“Oh.”

Lena’s leaning in a little further now, pressing heavier into Kara’s thigh and Kara flexes on instinct, sees the blossom of something hungry in Lena’s eyes. “Kara?”

Kara’s attention is already at Lena’s lips, her response is a strangled hum, “hmm?”

Lena holds steady for a moment, waiting maybe, to see if Kara will actually ask but Kara’s still a little dazed so it’s Lena that closes the distance between them. Kara doesn’t think she’s ever been kissed this softly before. It’s nothing and everything at the same time, electric and light, but more of a question than a kiss, like Lena is testing the waters.

Kara answers back with gusto.

She presses forward, readjusts for a second kiss that’s firmer, hungrier and unmistakably a yes. Kara hears a strangled sound of surprise from the back of Lena’s throat, feels a smile against her lips. Lena’s fingers dig a little into Kara’s thigh as she kisses back and Kara’s hand slides up Lena’s arm, gets as far as her neck before Lena pulls back.

Her lipstick is smudged, a hungry smear against her upper lip and she’s holding back a smile as she looks down at Kara’s mouth.

“You’re a mess,” she says, gentle laughter spilling from her lips.

“No thanks to you.” Kara tries to go for upset but she’s smiling too wide, knows her tone is all wrong because Lena just keeps chuckling. She wipes at her bottom lip and the tips of her fingers come away red, bright enough that Kara blushes a little. Lena moves back, retreating to readjust on her stool and Kara immediately misses her, involuntarily leans forward to follow.

“How about we finish dinner?” Lena tuts, shaking her head just enough that Kara feels the small sting of a reprimand. Kara pulls back, defeat etched in her brow but Lena continues, voice low, “you’ll have to wait for dessert.”

Kara has to suppress a whimper.

They settle back into companionable silence, Lena eating like a regular human while Kara tries very hard not to shovel her food into her mouth. It’s an uphill battle.

Kara’s got a tickling of nerves in the pit of her stomach, excited and anxious and hopeful. It flares when Lena finally stands, thighs knocking against Kara’s knees, but she grabs for Kara’s empty plate before Kara can even think about touching her. Then she’s around the island to the sink and Kara tries not to groan aloud as Lena turns on the tap. She gets thirty seconds into watching the gentle flex of the muscles in Lena’s forearms as she scrubs before she needs a distraction. Leftovers are tucked into Lena’s fridge, trash is disposed of and by the time the counter is clean again so are the dishes.

Lena’s facing Kara now, leaning back against the counter as she wipes her wet hands with a dish rag. “Still hungry for dessert?”

“Starved,” Kara manages before she takes a step forward.

Lena meets her halfway and this kiss is a little harder, but it’s still soft, still everything Kara wants. Kara’s hands are quick to Lena’s jaw and her fingertips tangle gently in the hair at the nape of Lena’s neck as Lena sighs into her mouth, falls against her. Lena tastes a little sweeter this time but she’s licking into Kara’s mouth two kisses in and there’s nothing _sweet_ about that. Kara presses forward and Lena wobbles, clutches at Kara’s sweater, at her hips to keep herself steady but that only makes Kara want to press more. Her hands slide to Lena’s hips and Lena’s adjust, moving up Kara’s arms to lay against her shoulders as Kara nudges her forward, kissing her just a little harder.

As soon as Kara’s got Lena pressed up against the counter again there’s a buzz from behind them. It’s a droning sort of thing prickling at the back of Kara’s skull and Kara pulls back from Lena’s lips with a soft pop.

“My phone,” Kara starts but Lena presses forward, closes the gap between them again to kiss her softly.

“Can wait,” Lena finishes against Kara’s lips.

Kara gives in for a second, closes her eyes a little tighter, presses her fingertips into the soft flesh of Lena’s hips but the buzzing continues and Kara groans as she pulls away again. “I’m sorry.”

It’s Alex because of course it is.

And there’s a _situation_ because _of course_ there is.

“I have to go.”

Lena’s frowning like she’s already sussed out the situation but she’s still got lipstick smeared across her mouth and Kara can’t help but smile at her.

“Family emergency?” It sounds like a question insomuch as Lena’s voice peaks at the end but the look on her face is pure disappointment. Not in Kara, she can tell that as much, but in their sudden split, in the fact that Kara is no longer kissing her.

Kara’s probably more upset about that than Lena is, honestly.

“Kind of, it’s- I’ll call you tomorrow,” Kara promises. She’s already halfway to the door, bag in hand. She still has her shoes on, didn’t bring a coat but she lingers at the door and Lena gets the idea, pads over and stops just inside Kara’s personal space. Close enough to touch but not enough to kiss.

She reaches out to adjust the collar of Kara’s shirt, lets her fingers graze against Kara’s pulse point then up to cup her jaw. When she leans forward to kiss Kara again Kara expects it to be soft but Lena crashes into her, pushing her back until she’s pressed against the wall. And Lena keeps kissing her, just hard enough that when she finally pulls away Kara feels a little breathless, a little weak in the knees and Lena is smiling up at her with a wicked grin.

“Goodnight, Kara.”

Then Kara pushes herself off the wall and walks out the front door, head spinning and cheeks warm and she’s halfway to the DEO when she realizes how much of Lena’s lipstick must be on her mouth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And if you're interested, this is vibe I'm going for with Lena's apartment: ([x](http://falsealarm.tumblr.com/post/134604733708)).


	2. sweater

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Your sweater, you can have it back now,” Lena pauses, takes a step to the left and looks back over her shoulder. “If you follow me to my place,” she continues. [...]
> 
> “Your place, huh?” Everything about the way Lena’s looking at her reads like she’s got ulterior motives but Kara hasn’t seen her a full week so she’d almost be upset if Lena didn’t.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long for this next part to go up (and that it's not as long as the first). I got distracted by the garbage dream that is Riverdale and real life too but hey, it's here now! And there's kissing!! I'm going to try for weekly updates from now on but I'm shit at chaptered fic so we'll see how that goes. Un-beta'd because I'm lazy (as was the first part, I just forgot to make a note).
> 
> Dedicated to my kapow babes. xoxo

There’s no milk in the fridge. No milk but Kara’s got a full box of cereal in hand and she doesn’t understand how the world could be this cruel.

It’s noon already so technically it’s past the “appropriate” time for breakfast but Kara’s never put time restrictions on her food consumption. She doesn’t see the point, especially with the number of calories she consistently needs to eat to keep her strength up. Why limit your options?

Which is why, seconds after finding out she is milk-less, Kara is out the window and on her way to the store.

 

\---

 

Kara’s never safe alone in a grocery store. Her appetite is always primed for feasting, her stomach on high alert. She’s already got her gallon of whole milk in hand, turns around to make for the front of the store but she’s immediately distracted by a display of donuts at her left. She turns again, trying to divert her gaze, but on her right is a display of snack cakes. If Alex were here they’d already be safely out of the store but she isn’t so Kara makes a bee-line for the cookies.

She’s got four packs stacked against her chest when she sees Lena. She’s just stepped into line at the end of Kara’s aisle, a basket on her arm, hair loose at her back. Kara gets a small rush of adrenaline at seeing her _in the wild_.

It’s been a week since Kara saw her last. L Corp is at the end of a financial quarter which means Lena’s beyond busy at work: in and out of meetings and multi-hour phone calls. All of which, Lena has assured her over text, are exactly as boring as they sound. Kara has never liked the word _fiduciary_ and neither does Lena going by the amount of wine she admits to consuming almost every night this week. Kara’s offered to bring her lunch a few times and coffee too but Lena’s been adamant that seeing Kara would prove more of a distraction than she’s willing to risk.

Kara is both flattered and disappointed.

She’s halfway down the aisle before she realizes she’s walking, Lena’s gravitational pull too strong for Kara’s subconscious mind to deny. She’s nearly on top of Lena when she realizes what Lena’s wearing:

“That’s my sweater.”

Lena turns with a start, shoulders tense, jaw a straight line but as soon as she sets eyes on Kara her whole demeanor softens. Kara swears she even sees a hint of a blush on her cheeks. “Kara, hi.”

“Oh, sorry,” Kara apologizes, “I mean, hi.” Kara gives her a small smile but her eyes are quickly back down to Lena’s torso. “You’re wearing my sweater.”

“Is that okay?” Lena’s voice is uncertain, almost nervous like she’s been caught doing something she wasn’t supposed to. Kara is quick to reassure her:

“Yeah, that’s totally okay.” And it is because the sweater looks great on Lena. The sleeves are a little long and it’s tight across her chest but the color brings out her eyes. Kara’s always loved that sweater but she loves it even more on Lena. It makes her look so _comfortable_. “I was just wondering where it was.”

“Next,” Kara hears from behind them and she looks over Lena’s shoulder to see the cashier giving them the stink eye. Lena turns around with a guilty smile and starts unloading her basket onto the conveyor belt. It’s a meager haul, much like Kara’s run it looks like things that Lena seems to have run out of: eggs, tissues, salad dressing, a loaf of bread from the bakery and on top a pack of gum, peppermint. Lena pays with a platinum credit card and the cashier balks a little as she swipes it but Lena gives the woman a warm smile, says thank you when she hands over the receipt. Kara, on the other hand, pays for her pile of cookies and her milk with cash and Lena’s smile gets wider with every cookie package the cashier rings up.

They walk side by side to the front of the store. Lena’s collection of goodies is tucked safely away in a canvas bag slung over her shoulder while Kara’s cookies are still piled against her chest. Lena seems endlessly amused watching Kara maneuver the packets into a less-precarious position against herself.

There’s a touch of a laugh in her voice when they stop on the sidewalk outside to part ways. “You can have it back now, if you want.”

Kara’s head swivels, “What?”

“Your sweater, you can have it back now,” Lena pauses, takes a step to the left and looks back over her shoulder. “ _If_ you follow me to my place,” she continues.

It’s then Kara realizes they’re only a few blocks from Lena’s because Kara _flew_ to this grocery store. It’s the only place in the whole city that has her favorite brand of ice cream plus it always smells like fresh baked bread so Kara regularly makes the flight over to stock up on her essentials. The fact that it is now also just a few blocks away from Lena’s place is just another tick in the positives column.

“Your place, huh?” Everything about the way Lena’s looking at her reads like she’s got ulterior motives but Kara hasn’t seen her a full week so she’d almost be upset if Lena didn’t.

“I have something else there I need to give you anyways,” Lena counters, almost as an aside, but Kara knows better.

 

\---

 

Lena manages to put her eggs and Kara’s milk into the fridge before she pins Kara up against the counter with her hips. Kara, surprised only that it took Lena so long, is smiling bright as Lena tilts up to kiss her, long and slow.

“Is that what you needed to give me?”

Lena’s answer is another kiss as she leans a little further into Kara. Her second answer is a husky “maybe” against Kara’s lips.

Kara loses a couple minutes in Lena’s mouth, each kiss a little hungrier than the last. Kara’s hands are steady at Lena’s hips, fingers ducking carefully under the hem of her sweater, just enough that Kara can feel warm, smooth skin against her fingertips.

Kissing Lena thrills Kara every time, all the way down to her toes but today the thrill has stopped at Kara’s abdomen because Lena’s hands are already under her shirt. She’s taking her time, skating her fingers up against Kara’s ribs, thumbs nudging at the edge of Kara’s bra. Kara’s feeling discernable degrees warmer than she was five minutes ago, kisses Lena a little harder, opens her mouth and lets Lena lick inside.

Not only does Lena lick into Kara’s mouth, she starts _sucking_ on Kara’s tongue. A raucous burst of heat shoots down between Kara’s legs and she melts a little. Her body slouches just enough that Lena’s hand slips easily up to cup her breast and the sudden pressure has Kara whimpering into Lena’s mouth. It’s unintentional and Kara is almost embarrassed at how needy it sounds but Lena’s palming her breast, thumbing casually against Kara’s nipple and Kara’s whole world is a little too hazy to focus on anything other than a building heat low in her belly.

Kara kisses Lena in return, sloppy and off-center and Lena laughs, presses a quick peck to the corner of Kara’s mouth. Then she’s pulling away, looking at Kara with a devilish smile, pupils blown wide. She reaches for Kara’s hand then tugs, leading Kara around the kitchen island towards the living room.

Kara does not protest.

She lets Lena guide her to the couch, lets her push at Kara’s shoulders until she’s seated. Kara tugs Lena down after her by their still-joined hands and she falls to the couch just next to Kara. Her eyes are half-lidded and the devil is gone from her smile, it’s a little softer at the edges and her lips are kiss-reddened and oh, _that’s different_.

It’s subtle. The culmination perhaps, of weeks of getting to know each other, of finding out what makes Lena Luthor tick. Kara can see it shimmering in her eyes, sitting in the easy spread of her smile: unadulterated happiness. Kara can _feel_ it too, mirrored in the warm cache of fluttering in her chest but just below it there’s a cold itch, pressing up and invading.

Supergirl.

She is quiet, unassuming, nudging herself into their relationship one hurried phone call at a time, pushing Kara out the door with empty hands and a full heart. She’s been easy to handle so far but only because the city has been quiet these past few weeks and Kara knows that won’t last much longer. She knows the more time she spends with Lena the harder Supergirl will be to hide but does she even need to hide anymore? Lena has proven herself to Kara, to National City, time and time again.

Lena Luthor might have the constitution of a Luthor but she does not have their sickness. She is _good_ and smart and she believes in Supergirl, she _trusts_ Supergirl and, above all, Kara trusts her.

Kara closes her eyes, takes a deep breath and lets it out slow. “I need to say something before—,” Kara stops because she doesn’t know exactly what is meant to come next but she knows it’s more than what they’ve done before, more than Kara’s done in years. And she’s nervous because of that but nervous more so because of the bubbling energy in her chest, crackling and spinning, as she looks up to lock eyes with Lena. “I don’t know if you’ll want me to stay once you know and that’s— that’s okay but I still need to tell you.” A lie, bold-faced and righteous, because it wouldn’t be fine. Kara’s sure her heart would crack, fall to pieces and disappear into the depths of her stomach. But she needs to say it still, Lena deserves to know. “I’m—.”

“Supergirl,” Lena finishes for her.

Kara’s eyes go wide, “You—.”

“Know,” Lena nods, “I’ve known for a while.”

“For a _while_?”

“Those glasses really aren’t as magical as you think they are, Kara.”

Kara’s heartbeat is riotous in her ears and her mind is racing, spinning a rolodex through every moment she’s spent with Lena, trying to pinpoint the exact moment it could’ve happened. The exact moment Kara gave herself away. Because it had to have been her fault, a slip or two or three, collected and compacted into something so convincing that Lena could figure it out. And well, it’s not like Lena’s stupid, she’s brilliant, honestly. She’s one of the smartest people Kara’s ever met, naturally one step ahead of the pack and of course she knew, of course—

“Kara,” Lena squeezes Kara’s hands and Kara forgot they were still joined, looks down at them then back up at Lena. “It’s okay.”

 “You knew and you didn’t, why didn’t you tell me?”

“I wanted _you_ to tell me, Kara.” There’s an earnestness in her voice, like she needs Kara to believe her. “It was more important to me that I earned your trust, telling you I knew would’ve blown that right out of the water.”

“Oh.” And it makes sense, with Lena’s history, with everything that’s happened to her, that she’d be wary of revealing her hand. But she kept Kara’s secret with no incentive other than the hope that Kara would tell her eventually, that Kara would trust Lena enough to invite her in. “And you don’t care?”

“You’re still Kara Danvers underneath it all.” Then Lena laughs to herself, “it’s honestly nice knowing no human is really as perfect as you are.”

And Kara blushes because of course Lena’s flirting with her in the middle of all of this.

Lena squeezes her hands again, rubs a thumb against the ridges of Kara’s knuckles. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Kara nods, brow furrowed, “I just— I kind of psyched myself up and then you, well you didn’t ruin it but you threw me off a little.”

Lena’s smiling, small but enough to hit her eyes and when Kara glances up at them there’s a bit of something familiar in the expansion of her pupils. “Anything I can do to make you feel better?”

A leading question if ever there were one. “Maybe.”

Lena gets to her knees on the couch and Kara gets the picture, readjusts so that Lena can swing a leg over and straddle her lap. She guides Kara’s hands up to her hips, settles them at the curve. “You still want your sweater back?”

Kars nods, vehemently, “yes.”

Lena’s hands are already at the hem of her sweater and with one fluid motion she tugs it up and over her head, flinging it behind herself. Kara’s mouth instantly goes dry. Lena’s not wearing a shirt under her sweater because of course she’s not. Her bra is black, a stark contrast to the inches of pale, alabaster skin she’s just exposed and Kara hears herself whimper again, quiet in the back of her throat.

She’s eye to eye with the top of Lena’s chest and she can’t look away. Her hands are already drifting up, fingers skimming the soft skin just above Lena’s waistband and she can feel Lena’s skin reacting to her, goosebumps raising in anticipation. There’s an expectant uptick to Lena’s heartbeat too. Gentle enough that Lena wouldn’t notice it herself but noticeable enough to Kara that she can track its increase with every movement she makes. Her fingertips walk the ladder of Lena’s ribs until Lena’s voice breaks the silence between them:

“Kara?”

Kara’s attention does not waver, “hmm?”

“Are you feeling better?”

“I think so.”

“You _think_ so?” Kara doesn’t actually see Lena shake her head but she does see the quake of it in her chest and swallows thickly. She was _not_ prepared for this.

Lena’s hand slips up to Kara’s neck then, tilting her head up and pulling her forward for a kiss that’s hot and wanton. Kara’s hands automatically shift a little higher to hold Lena steady as they kiss, fingers splayed against her rib cage. They shift organically as Lena presses closer to her, one sliding around to Lena’s back to pull her in tighter while the other slides higher and slowly higher until it’s cupping Lena’s left breast. Lena smiles against her mouth, arches a little into her hand as encouragement. Kara squeezes gently, experimentally and Lena presses into her hand again. She kneads the second time, a little harder, once, then again and she feels the pebble of Lena’s nipple against the palm of her hand. When she thumbs over it she hears a small noise of approval at the back of Lena’s throat.

Kara does it again, a little harder, then Lena’s sucking at Kara’s bottom lip and Kara’s attention is immediately back to Lena’s mouth, to Lena’s tongue flicking against her lips. Kara has always prided herself in her ability to multi-task but everything about Lena is overwhelming. She needs all her focus in one place to keep herself from drowning so it’s Lena that reminds her where her hand is. Lena who brings her own hand up to cover Kara’s against her breast. Lena’s hand that squeezes and Kara gets shocked into remembrance, stops mid-kiss to palm at Lena’s breast again, to thumb at her nipple and the noise Lena makes against her mouth stirs something hot low in Kara’s stomach.

The line of Lena’s neck is in sight now, half-hidden by her hair and Kara nuzzles into shadow of it, places tender kisses from Lena’s jaw to her pulse point. Her mouth moves lower and lower and lower until it finds the curve of Lena’s breast, ample and forgiving. She presses a kiss to the top of it and Lena hums her satisfaction so Kara lets her mouth stray, kissing from the top of one breast to Lena’s sternum then up the curve of the other. Lena’s practically purring now and her heartbeat is an up-tempo thrum in Kara’s ears.

“Lena?” Kara’s mouth is still pressed to Lena’s breast, she’s talking more to it than Lena but Lena herself answers all the same.

“Yeah?” Her voice is all breath.

“Can I—?”

Lena cuts in before Kara can finish her question because _of course_ she knows where Kara was going, “Please.”

Kara smiles as she slides both her hands around Lena’s back. It takes her a second or two of fiddling but then the clasps of Lena’s bra are loose and the back panels fall away. Kara smooths her hands over the newly freed skin, lets her fingertips trace over the indentations left behind. Lena presses forward just enough that the frame of Kara’s glasses get nudged and honestly Kara had forgotten they were still on. She slides her hands back around to take them off but as she does her hands catch at Lena’s bra and it falls loose from her chest.

Kara stops, glasses hanging on the edge of her nose, to stare in wide-eyed wonder. Lena’s breasts are nothing like Kara’s own but that makes Kara all the most intrigued by them, they’re a mystery waiting to be solved.

“Kara?” Lena’s voice sounds like an echo at the end of a hall, the rest of the world just a blur of hazy color and sound. But then Kara feels pressure on her nose as Lena slides her glasses the rest of the way off. She leans back to set them on the coffee table, the arch of her back popping her breasts forward a little, and Kara thinks her mouth might actually be watering.

When Lena sits back up, hands on Kara’s shoulders, Kara wastes no time in setting lips to skin.

Kissing first, soft and sweet against the top of Lena’s breasts but Kara wastes no time in moving down to press an open-mouthed kiss to Lena’s nipple. It’s not like Kara expects Lena to protest but she _definitely_ doesn’t expect the noise that comes from Lena’s mouth. It’s a loud groan, guttural and _hot_ from the back of Lena’s throat and it hits right between Kara’s legs. Kara flicks her tongue out against the tip of Lena’s nipple and she groans again, slides a hand into Kara’s hair to hold steady at the back of her head. Then it’s more tongue, swirling around Lena’s nipple, circling once then Kara pulls back and looks up. Lena’s eyes are closed tight but her jaw is slack, mouth agape. The hand in Kara’s hair contracts, tugging Kara’s mouth back in and Kara obliges, tongue flat against sensitive skin. Lena’s hips jolt against Kara’s lap in a stunted cant and it’s encouraging more than anything so Kara keeps going. She sucks lightly on tender skin, kisses and licks and Lena’s hips keep canting harder against Kara’s lap with every touch.

“Kara.” Lena hits the _k_ hard as Kara presses a kiss to the side of Lena’s areola, the rest of Kara’s name kind of flutters off after.

Kara pulls her mouth away, looks up, “hmm?”

“You need to stop.”

There’s a small moment of panic, harsh in Kara’s chest but nothing about Lena’s body language or the tone of her voice supports it. “Don’t you—.”

“Yes, I _do_ like it, too much honestly.” Lena’s pupils are blown wide, her eyes as dark as Kara’s ever seen them. “If you don’t stop now there’s no way I’m letting you out of this apartment until morning.”

“Oh,” Kara blinks, wets her lips. “ _Ohh_.”

“And as much as I’d _love_ you to stay,” Lena presses against Kara’s shoulders as she moves to stand upright, “I have a conference call in an hour that I cannot miss.”

“But it’s Saturday.” Kara’s voice is only a hair shy of a whine, she already misses the heat of Lena against her.

“Well I know that but the numbers come in when the numbers come in.” Then she disappears into her bedroom and reappears wrapped in a silk robe. It’s tied loosely and when it falls open at the chest Kara can see the lingering red of what might be a hickey against the top of Lena’s right breast.

“Sorry, for—,” Kara waves a hand at Lena’s chest and Lena looks down then back up with a smile.

“Nothing to be sorry for, darling.” Lena’s already swanned back into Kara’s space, offers a hand to pull Kara upright but Kara tugs her down instead and Lena lands with a laugh on Kara’s lap again. She kisses her sweetly but smacks at Kara’s hand as it slips up to the tie of Lena’s robe. “I mean it,” Lena tuts, pushing away from Kara to stand again, “you still need to leave. The longer I have you the more I want to _keep_ you.”

Lena’s voice gets husky at the end and Kara feels a blush heavy in her cheeks, a heat warm between her legs.

She stands and laughs as Lena scoots out of her grasp. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“You’ll text me tonight.” Lena winks.

And Kara laughs because it’s true.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ETA: I know you're all upset with me for ending where I did but I wrote an entire fic about Lena Luthor masturbating, y'all think that woman didn't kick Kara out and immediately take care of herself????


	3. soup

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Her pharmacy haul is substantial, overkill probably, but Jess had honestly made it seem like Lena was bedridden and enfeeble so Kara had gone all in. Seeing Lena now Kara realizes she definitely does not need half the things she bought but better safe than sorry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's been forever, don't yell at me. I have loads of excuses I can lob at you all but nobody cares about those so please, enjoy this fluff. Also know that part 4 is smut and that I'll be working on it this weekend and hopefully posting early next week if the weekend is kind to me. Un-beta'd and probably not great but HEY I'M UPDATING AND THAT'S WHAT'S IMPORTANT HERE.

Lena answers the door after the fourth knock. She’s still in her pajamas, a knit robe wrapped around herself, hair in a messy bun and she looks desperately tired. Her face is a little pale, her forehead dappled with a sheen of sweat but she’s smiling at Kara like the clouds have just parted for the first time all day. It makes Kara feel warm in all the right places.

“Jess told you, didn’t she?” She sounds a hair shy of annoyed but she’s still smiling.

“ _You_ should’ve told me,” Kara says, inviting herself in with one step forward. Lena turns to let her pass, closes the door behind her.

“I didn’t want to bug you.”

The shuffling of socked feet follows Kara into the kitchen. Lena stops just next to her, sniffles once and pulls her robe tighter around her waist as she surveys the pile of goods Kara’s just deposited on the counter. Her pharmacy haul is substantial, overkill probably, but Jess had honestly made it seem like Lena was bedridden and enfeeble so Kara had gone all in. Seeing Lena now Kara realizes she definitely does not need half the things she bought but better safe than sorry.

“As if you could ever bug me,” Kara says as she sets starts shuffling through her bags. Lena starts hugging her own sides and when Kara turns around her eyes are half-lidded, her smile crooked and little drowsy. “I brought you the Cat Grant special.”

Lena’s eyebrows furrow, “I don’t know if I like that sound of that.”

“Okay, well it’s not exactly the Cat Grant special because the juice place was out of ginger shots but it’s the next best thing.”

“The next best thing to ginger shots? Kara, you look like you brought me half a pharmacy.”

“Jess said—”

“ _That I was dying_?”

Kara laughs, rubs the back of her neck, “Not in those exact words.”

“But close to them.” Lena shakes her head, rolls her eyes. “What were you even doing at my office?”

“I came to bring you coffee.”

“Which is—?”

Lena’s eyebrows raise expectantly and Kara turns back around to her bags, pushing one aside to produce a fresh Noonan’s coffee, “is here, but it’s new, I promise. I drank the other one.”

The proffered cup is grabbed swiftly with two hands and Lena brings it to her nose for a deep breath but she’s too clogged to really get a whiff, ends up just sniffling loudly instead and Kara has to hold back a laugh by biting her lips. Lena narrows her eyes at Kara briefly before taking a sip and humming her pleasure against the lid. “Thank you.”

Kara smiles as she turns back to her bags, starts unloading them one by one. There’s a lot of regular cold and flu remedies — syrups and lozenges and tissues with aloe and tissues without — then there are a few _out of the ordinary_ bits.

“What is that?”

“A neti pot.”

“Really?”

“Cat says it works, plus I got you this other wellness shot the juice place said would work and then—”

“Is that raw ginger?”

“The shots really do work, I thought I could try to make you one.”

“I’m not going to take a ginger shot, Kara. Not even one lovingly crafted by you.”

Kara huffs, “fine. But what about,” then she’s back ruffling through her bag again, sorting through the last of the bits and pieces until she finds a paper bag tucked near the bottom. It’s a little beaten up but Lena’s eyes are wide when she sees the hand-pressed stamp of the company’s logo on the front of it.

“Kara, did you fly to Paris to get me my favorite tea?”

“Maybe.”

“I could kiss you, you know.”

Kara scoots a little closer to Lena. “You can, _you know_. I’ve got a steel constitution.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Perks of being an alien,” Kara answers with a smile.

Lena moves forward a little, just enough to reach around Kara to set her coffee cup on the counter then she pivots, pressing herself against Kara’s front. But she doesn’t tilt her head up for a kiss, instead she tucks her face into Kara’s neck and whispers: “You’re too good to me.”

And the way she says it, voice small and warm against the hollow of Kara’s throat, makes Kara’s heart clench in her chest. Kara’s arms slide up Lena’s back until they settle, palms flat, against her shoulders in a hug. Lena presses closer, pulls her hands up between them and Kara can feel Lena bunch her fists in Kara’s shirt. “I can stay a little longer,” Kara whispers against the top of Lena’s head after she kisses it gently, “you wanna spoon?”

Lena laughs softly against Kara’s neck but it sputters out and then Lena’s coughing, a rough, phlegmy mess of a thing and she ducks her head to tuck her face into her robe. Kara can feel her lungs spasm as she coughs, heaving with each expel of breath and she’s shaking against Kara, forehead pressed to Kara’s chest as she coughs. She’s exhausted when the spell finishes, Kara can feel it in the shaking of her muscles, can hear it in her ragged breathing.

“Come here,” Kara says softly. She pulls her hands from Lena’s back and moves quickly lest Lena protest, kneels a little to get a good lift then Lena’s swept off her feet, settled against Kara’s chest bridal style.

Lena lets out a surprised “oh” and then another small laugh as she lifts her arms to hook around Kara’s neck. “I think I could get used to this.”

“Oh yeah?”

“I’ve never thought of myself as the damsel type but this whole hero carry is enticing. I might have to change my ways.”

“Don’t even think about it.”

Kara carries her into the bedroom, sets her down carefully against the bed but Lena’s hands don’t let go so she pulls Kara down with her. Kara smiles, lays herself gently against Lena’s side but stays upright on a propped elbow so she can look down at her. Her eyes are brighter now, brimming with unshed tears from her coughing fit. Her cheeks are flushed too and she’s got the gentle indent of one of Kara’s shirt buttons pressed into her forehead. Kara leans down to kiss it gently then smooths a thumb over it. “I’ve got ten minutes until I need to be back in the office, you wanna be the big spoon or the little spoon?”

“Oh, I get to choose?”

“You’re sick, you get whatever you want.”

“ _Whatever_ _I want, huh_?” Lena waggles an eyebrow.

“Within reason,” Kara tuts.

“Then you, Kara Danvers, girl of steel, get to be the little spoon today.” She’s turning before Kara can answer and Kara laughs, shifts to her side just in time for Lena to nestle up close behind her.

“Of course I do.”

 

\---

 

Snapper’s gone when Kara gets back to the office but he’s left a heap of busy work to yell at her in his place. She’s in-between articles so he’s using her like the interns he just fired last month. Half the stuff in her inbox is fact checking and quotes he needs for articles in progress which has Kara caught up in phone calls for a solid hour and a half. It’s just passing 3pm when she gets her first text from Lena: _Thank you for the extra drugs, they’ve been delightful._

Kara laughs out loud, claps a hand over her mouth to stifle it but she still gets a curious look or two from the scattered cubicle prisoners around her.

[Kara 3:04PM] You’re very welcome. Feeling better?

[Lena 3:04PM] If by better you mean seeing sounds, then yes.

[Kara 3:05PM] I didn’t know you had synesthesia.

[Lena 3:05PM] I don’t

[Kara 3:06PM] How many drugs have you taken?

[Lena 3:06PM] Enough

[Kara 3:06PM] Did you read the warning labels?

[Lena 3:07PM] I have a minor in chemical engineering, I don’t need to read warning labels

[Kara 3:07PM] …that makes no sense. Do you need me to come over again?

[Kara 3:09PM] ??

[Kara 3:13PM] I’m coming over if you don’t text me back.

[Lena 3:20PM] Shh sleeping

[Kara 3:20PM] Text me when you wake up later.

There’s no answering text and Kara imagines Lena tucked up in bed with her phone clutched in her hand, a pile of blankets slung across her body. The image makes her heart clench.

It’s not like Lena’s in peril. She literally just has a cold but the simplicity of her situation almost makes it even worse. Kara can’t save the day this time, there’s no bad guy to punch or evil organization to dismember. There’s only a cold virus, microscopic and vicious, tearing its way through Lena’s system and all Kara can really do is stand by and let it run its course.

She doesn’t remember feeling this guilty whenever Alex is sick but those are not the kind of emotions Kara’s ready to deal with at the moment.

What she can deal with, however, is doing everything in her power to make sure Lena beats this cold as soon as humanly possible. The drugs were the easy part and Lena’s certainly getting enough sleep but there’s one thing Eliza always swore by when Alex was sick: homemade chicken noodle soup.

Her inbox has slowed to a crawl and all the time-sensitive pieces Snapper gave her have been completed so there’s a chance she could sneak away unnoticed if she plays her cards right. So she tries it.

The stack of papers on her desk is shoved into her bag and then Kara, with all the stealth she can manage, slips out of the office towards the elevators.

 

\---

 

Soup making is much more of a _task_ than Kara thought it to be.

Eliza’s recipe requires Kara to make her own chicken stock and so do at least five other recipes she finds online. The process itself doesn’t sound hard, really, it’s just that making it adds at least another two or three hours onto the cook time. Kara decides on a sixth recipe that sounds promising based on the comments it’s garnered and can be made in under four hours.

The grocery store is all but abandoned on a Wednesday afternoon and Kara flies through the produce section, gathering up her ingredients. She’s on the hunt for a good-looking chicken when she gets a new text from Lena. It’s auto-corrected itself into oblivion and the fact that Lena doesn’t immediately text to correct it means there’s no way she’ll be conscious past 9pm. Kara has to work fast.

The chicken goes straight into the oven when Kara gets back to her apartment. She settles onto the couch while it roasts, the massive stack of pages from Snapper in her lap and a trio of fluorescent highlighters close at hand. She’s nearly through the entire thing when the timer goes off then the stack is abandoned as Kara whizzes into the kitchen to collect her stock of vegetables. There’s chopping and dicing and julienning until the pot of soup itself is ready to settle in for another hour’s cooking. Her apartment smells sensational: the savory scent of roasted chicken combined with rosemary and garlic has Kara salivating the entire time the soup’s finishing up.

It’s only half past 6pm when the thing is finally ready and maybe Kara has a bowl of it herself to test, maybe she has two. It’s fine, she made a big batch.

She’s got leftover wonton soup containers tucked into her cabinets somewhere, goes rooting around for a solid minute before she pulls one triumphantly from behind a stack of cookie trays and muffin tins. She ladles in the soup carefully and is just pressing the lid on tight when she hears the sirens.

They’re not ambulance, they’re fire truck. Kara does trust her city to take care of itself but she can’t help but listen a little harder as the sirens blare on in the back of her head. She cranes her neck towards the open window, closes her eyes and searches. It takes a few seconds to find it, buried beneath the noise of the rest of the city, but Kara locks onto a semi-static radio signal and hears the words “warehouse fire”.

The stove is off, soup abandoned, as Kara shoots out the window in full Supergirl regalia. She speeds straight up into the sky and stops to hover a couple hundred feet from the nearest skyscraper. There are new voices, closer and clearer in her ears and Kara turns to her right to see a small gaggle of people pressed to their office windows with phones at the ready. The sirens are still blaring and from her vantage point Kara can see the smoke now. She rockets off in its direction before any of the onlookers can snap a decent picture.

The blaze is menacing, roaring and wild, and Kara lands just as the fire trucks arrive on scene. She scans the building for occupants and zips inside pulling a trio of people from the far back before letting loose a torrent of freezing breath at some flames lapping close to the front of the building. The space is cleared just enough that the firefighters can find a steady place but the warehouse is thousands of square feet and there’s no way they can handle this blaze themselves.

It takes a full half hour of coordinated effort with the fire department to get the blaze completely put out. As soon as the last flame goes the building itself starts to collapse. Kara hears the creaking first, from deep in the bowels of the building. It’s a wrenching sort of noise, hot metal twisting under stress and then a crashing, one heavy sound after another, as beams start to fall. It’s an inward collapse for the most part but Kara hears the beginning of screams a side away, flies in just in time to catch a corner from falling on an ambulance. She’s covered in soot for her trouble, pushes the corner in on itself and lands on the ground shaking the black dust from her shoulders and hair.

The fire chief has her do another swing around the building for structural stability’s sake and when Kara deems the building safe enough to leave it on its own she gets the okay to leave.

Her suit is still soot-stained when she lands inside her apartment and she pulls off her boots by the window, hovers her way into the bathroom to strip off more. She thinks briefly about a shower but she’s cutting it close now, if she wants Lena conscious when she sees her she’s got to move quick.

 

\---

 

Lena’s left a window open for Kara, the one leading into the living room with the ledge that is barely a ledge and Kara all but trips her way inside. The soup container sloshes but does not spill as Kara regains her composure, tilting her head just enough to see inside the bedroom.

There’s a light on by the bed and Lena’s mostly upright, propped up on a pillow with her knees tucked up and her tablet set against them. She’s got her glasses on, slid down to the end of her nose and well, she’s snoring. It’s light but it’s still loud enough that Kara can hear it _without_ her super-hearing and she laughs to herself as she moves into the kitchen to put the soup away in the fridge.

At some point in the day Lena did manage to shower but her hair’s been shoved into a messy bun at the top of her head again and it smells like jasmine when Kara goes to press a kiss to Lena’s temple. Lena comes awakes with a noisy inhale that clunks around her lungs before sputtering out in a cough and Kara feels guilt sluice like icy water over her insides.

“Sorry,” she whispers, sitting carefully on the edge of the bed but Lena’s quick to reach for her, even as she coughs.

She sets a hand on Kara’s thigh, squeezes as the pulls her robe up to cover her mouth again. “It’s okay,” Lena says softly once the fit is over. “I’m glad you’re here.”

“I made you soup.”

The way Lena’s looking at her makes it seem like Kara’s just told her she pulled a star from the sky. “You made me soup?”

“Chicken noodle with rosemary.”

“From scratch?” Kara nods and Lena squeezes her thigh again, “where did you even find the time?”

“I brought some work home with me. I would’ve been here sooner but there was a fire.”

“Is everyone alright?”

“No injuries, lots of soot.”

Lena reaches up to brush at something at Kara’s hairline with a smile and her index finger comes away with a black smear. “You want to shower?”

“Will you be awake when I get out?”

As if right on cue Lena yawns, long and wide and it sets a smile to Kara’s lips. “I could be.”

“I can heat up your soup before I get in.”

“I can heat it up myself,” Lena counters, shifting slightly and nudging Kara aside with her thigh, “I need to get out of bed anyways.”

Kara stands as Lena does and is only a little surprised when Lena turns into her and gives her a quick peck on the lips before sauntering off into the kitchen.

 

\---

 

It’s almost impossible for Kara to take a short shower when she’s at Lena’s. The water pressure might, in fact, be the best Kara’s ever experienced in her entire life which means it is physically painful to remove herself from the shower after just five minutes. Lena’s still awake when Kara gets out of the bathroom but only barely so. There’s an empty soup bowl on her night stand and her tablet’s in her lap again, her hand hovering just above the screen as she scrolls through whatever she’s reading. Her smile is crooked but bright when Kara emerges from the closet in a set of soft cotton pajamas that Kara is very sure Lena bought specifically for her. There’s no way Lena would voluntarily wear anything with cartoon puppies on it.

“You did it,” Kara says with a triumphant little fist pump.

“That soup was delicious.”

Kara bounces on her heels a little, exceedingly proud of herself. “I know, right?”

Lena shakes her head, “how many bowls did you eat before you brought it over?”

“One,” Kara starts, taking a few steps closer to the bed. Lena cocks an eyebrow. “Okay, two.”

“Come here,” Lena chuckles.

Kara’s quick to the bed, climbing over Lena’s legs and sliding under the covers beside her. Lena sets her tablet on the night stand and scoots down a little, turning to face Kara as she readjusts the pillows beneath her head. Lena’s a little flushed, not sweating anymore but heat is coming off her in waves, in tune to the steady thrum of her heartbeat. She smiles, small and sincere and Kara’s suddenly struck by how beautiful she is; bare-faced and half-asleep Lena looks like everything Kara’s ever wanted.

The kiss she gives Lena is soft, lingering just long enough that Lena hums against her mouth.

“Thank you.”

“No one’s ever thanked me for kissing them before,” Kara chuckles as she pulls back.

“They’ve thanked _me_ ,” Lena jokes, a mischievous little smile on her face as she leans forward to kiss Kara again quickly. “For today, I mean. For being here.”

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

It’s a reflex response, slides easily off Kara’s tongue but when it lands something flashes across Lena’s face. The space between her eyebrows creases briefly like she’s at a loss for words but mostly Kara sees pain. Hidden in the purse of her lips and the clench of her jaw. It’s old, deep-seated and unmoving, then it hits the watery blue of Lena’s eyes and Kara is overwhelmed.

She reacts without thinking, presses forward to kiss Lena again, slides a hand to her neck to hold her still, to hold her steady. Lena’s hand is bed-warm when it reaches out to grip at Kara’s forearm, holding on as she kisses Kara back with as much force as she can muster. It’s a thank you kiss, Kara’s had them before. But there’s something more along the edges of it and Kara closes her eyes, lets the smell and feel and taste of Lena settle into her.

It takes them a few minutes to part and Lena’s breathing heavily when they do but there’s no wheezing, only hot breath against Kara’s lips and Lena’s hand gripping tight at Kara’s hip. “You’re sure you can’t get sick?”

“Promise,” Kara answers with a smile.

“Good.” Then Lena’s kissing her again with so much renewed fervor that Kara’s half-convinced her soup might be the cure for the common cold.


	4. orgasms + pasta

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I’m going to make you dinner,” [Lena] says matter-of-factly with another kiss to Kara’s shoulder, “because you did so well today.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well alright okay, this wasn't as timely an update as I wanted but also it ended up being much longer than I thought it would be?? I think it's probably my favorite part yet and writing the second half made me really hungry so apologies in advance if the same happens to you. Really this part is like half smut-smut and half food porn so... Thanks to everyone that's been sticking around for this fic. ❤️❤️❤️
> 
> (Un-beta'd like always bc who has time for that??)
> 
> ETA I ALMOST FORGOT -- HAPPY EARLY BIRTHDAY ASHLEIGH PLEASE ENJOY THIS SMUT

The muscles in Lena’s legs have been in spasm for a full thirty seconds when she puts a hand on Kara’s head and pushes her mouth away. There isn’t actually enough force to move Kara but she obliges anyway, scoots back just enough to rest a cheek against the inside of Lena’s thigh and look up at Lena with a wide smile.

Lena’s entire body is covered in a thin sheen of sweat. Her hair is plastered to her forehead and her cheeks are ruddy with exertion as she breathes out through her mouth. She keeps her eyes closed for another minute or so and Kara just admires the view, the heaving of her bosom, the gentle fluttering of her eyelashes as Kara breathes out hot against her center. Just as she starts to settle again, breathing now in _and_ out through her nose Kara nudges forward a little to place a kiss against Lena’s clit and Lena lurches involuntarily, her thighs clapping shut against Kara’s ears.

“I will push you off this bed,” Kara hears, muffled through the press of supple skin. When Lena releases Kara she’s got her eyes open, staring down at Kara with pupils still blown but eyes narrowed. Kara laughs, another hot puff of air against Lena’s cunt, and Lena’s hips shift again.

“You will not.” Kara smiles and kisses Lena’s clit again, tongue darting out just enough to earn another shift of Lena’s hips.

Her thighs stay apart this time but her hips cant a little, almost shying away from Kara’s mouth because she’s still so sensitive. Kara tilts her head down, runs her tongue along Lena’s slit, from her opening up to her clit again. She’s soaking wet, coating Kara’s chin, as Kara starts working at Lena’s clit with broad, slow strokes of her tongue. Lena’s hand slides into her hair again, nails scratching gently at Kara’s scalp and Kara hums against her, lets her tongue slip lower.

She laps up the slickness as she finds it, tongues at Lena’s opening and Lena bucks a little, searching for more contact. Kara sticks her tongue in a little further and Lena lets out this breathy cry into the quiet room. It’s a miserable, pleading thing and Kara knows exactly what it means, starts working her tongue in earnest.

Lena’s hips are quick to work with her, thrusting in time with the push of Kara’s tongue inside her and the noises she makes only get breathier. It’s Lena that shifts Kara’s attention, tugging her up by the hair and Kara’s startled enough to _get_ pulled, tongue slip-sliding against Lena’s cunt until it hits her clit again. It only takes a few quick swipes before Lena’s coming for the _third_ time this afternoon, body contracting, heartbeat a pulsating throb in Kara’s ears. Kara stays put, mouth to Lena’s clit, until the aftershocks blow over, until Lena taps on the top of Kara’s head and whispers her name.

“Kara.” Her voice is a flutter of air. “Come here.”

Kara takes her time climbing back up, kisses from Lena’s thigh to her hip then up between her breasts. She nuzzles up the column of Lena’s throat as she shifts to bracket Lena’s head with her arms, keeping herself upright. Lena’s hands slide to Kara’s cheeks, cradling her face as she pulls Kara down to kiss her. It’s a lazy kiss but Kara knows Lena can taste herself, hears a satisfied hum in Lena’s throat as she kisses Kara over and over again.

“You really are a quick learner.”

“Learning is more fun when the subject is so responsive.” Kara teases, kissing Lena again then bending at the elbows to lower herself down gently along the length of her girlfriend.

“You’re welcome,” Lena answers as she slides her hands down to Kara’s shoulders to scratch at the fabric of her shirt. Kara’s still got most of her clothes on. Only her pants had been shucked free at Lena’s behest but as soon as Lena’s shirt had come off Kara had forgotten the rest of the world existed. Lena, now once again sound of mind and body, _mostly_ , has not forgotten about Kara’s clothes. “How do you still have so many clothes on?”

“I got distracted,” Kara hums against Lena’s mouth, kissing her again.

Lena nips at Kara’s bottom lip, sucks on it gently and release it with a pop. “It’s not fair.”

“Should I take them off?”

“It’s more fun if _I_ take them off.” Lena pushes herself upright and Kara moves back to accommodate the shift in position. There’s a little limb readjusting until Kara’s half-sitting in Lena’s loosely cross-legged lap. Kara wraps her own legs around Lena’s back, lets her hands rest on Lena’s shoulders as Lena’s slip down to Kara’s hips.

Kara’s running a lot hotter than usual and she’s wet, not like Lena, but she can feel it in the way her underwear presses up against her as she scoots forward on the bed. There’s a low, pulsing throb between her legs and it’s not a new feeling but it’s stronger than it usually is. It feels less like an ache and more like a want, growing hotter with every press of Lena’s fingers against the soft skin of her hips. Lena’s hands slide up, fingers skating across Kara’s stomach, the gentle ladder of her ribs then up and Kara lifts her arms as Lena pulls her shirt up and over her head, tossing it to the floor.

“Much better,” Lena says mostly to the skin of Kara’s chest as her mouth moves to it. She kisses along Kara’s collarbones soft and slow, tonguing smooth skin as she goes. Kara closes her eyes, feels a sudden spike of heat between her legs as one of Lena’s hands slips up to cup her breast. The fabric of Kara’s bra is thin enough that she can feel every minute flick of Lena’s thumb against her nipple and she arches into the touch, into Lena’s mouth as it slips down to the opposite breast. Lena is wasting no time. There’s a brief flicker of pressure at Kara’s back then she feels the fabric of her bra start to slip, Lena’s mouth following until she captures a nipple between her lips. Kara’s hips jolt at the sensation, canting down into the bed to find any pressure she can as a breathy little ghost of a moan escapes her lips. Lena smiles against her breast, Kara feels teeth against her skin and a soft puff of hot air that feels cool against the skin Lena’s wet with her mouth.

The arch of Kara’s back sharpens with each flick of Lena’s tongue against her breast until one of Lena’s hands slips between Kara’s legs. Kara doesn’t notice it at first, is too preoccupied with Lena’s tongue to feel her fingers sliding along Kara’s thigh, dancing feather light until they tap against Kara’s clit. The action causes a full-torso jolt: Kara’s abs flex, her shoulders bow forward and her hips tilt into the bed again. The shift causes a weird flicker in Lena’s heartbeat. Kara barely catches it through the heady fog of her growing arousal but it’s there for a second then gone with the next tick, a brief double-time. When Kara finally opens her eyes to look down at Lena her pupils are still blown but there’s concerned stitched between her brows.

“Are you ready?” Lena asks quietly. Her voice rattles in Kara’s chest, low and breathy and Kara’s nodding her head before she answers.

“Please.” And it sounds pleading because it is, because Lena _asking_ makes Kara crave her touch more, because this time she _is_ ready.

The other times, the _almosts_ — in Kara’s bed, on Lena’s couch, with the taste of Lena on her tongue and Lena’s hands in her hair — were never quite right. It was too soon or Kara wasn’t expecting it or there was too much on her mind but this time, with the midday sun shining in through the window and Lena’s bright blue eyes staring up at her Kara feels like this moment has been waiting for her.

“How,” Lena starts, licking her lips, “do you want me to touch you?”

Another question, another spike of heat between Kara’s legs. Lena’s been a saint in regards to Kara’s approach to sex. She guides with a steady hand, with easy questions and well thought-out answers to Kara’s. She likes to know what Kara is ready for, what Kara wants, what she doesn’t. She makes her own needs well-known, gives Kara boundaries and space and has never once made Kara feel guilty for stopping them. It’s that care and security she gives that’s the main reason Kara’s been such a quick study when it comes to pleasing Lena.

“Your hand.” Kara’s hips shift a little and Lena’s fingers thrum against her clit again, softly, but Kara’s hips jerk in response as she breathes out. “I haven’t,” Kara starts, then stops. It’s been blazingly sunny for three days now which has been a wonderful boost of energy for Kara. Her batteries haven’t been fully charged like this in weeks but with the city as quiet as it’s been Kara’s had no way to expel that energy. Flying only burns so much which means Kara’s been thrumming, high voltage electricity pumping through her veins. “I don’t know how I’ll _react_ ,” Kara manages to say eventually and that’s enough for Lena to understand what she means.

They’ve talked about Kara’s powers at length before. For curiosity’s sake, mostly, because Lena’s mind never really does shut off so Lena knows the ins and outs of Kara’s powers almost as well as Kara now. Early on Lena had taken a keen interest in the degree to which Kara controls her powers and how easy it is for her to “turn them off”. She’d talked at length about how Kara’s biochemistry would differ from a human’s, interspersed with questions about impulse control, about adrenaline and dopamine and now that every inch of Kara’s body is hyper-sensitive to Lena she’s very sure all those questions were secretly _pointed_.

“How about this?” Then Lena’s scooting back a little, pulling herself towards the headboard. Kara can feel a pout tugging at her lips but Lena’s patting the space between her open legs. “Come here, back to me.”

Kara follows Lena up the bed, turns and sits in the vee of her legs and leans back until she feels press of Lena’s breasts against her back and hot breath against her neck. Lena’s hands are quick to her skin, sliding across the plane of her abdomen in an easy hug while she runs the tip of her nose along the top of Kara’s shoulder. “Now,” she whispers as she noses back to the nape of Kara’s neck and kisses it gently, “you tell me if it’s too much.”

Lena’s right hand is already sliding down, the blunt edges of her fingernails skating across Kara’s hip bone. Her hand keeps moving, lower and lower still until she can cup Kara fully, over her underwear, but it’s enough to illicit a full-body twitch from Kara. Her head lolls back a little as her hips jut up into Lena’s hand and Lena kisses Kara’s neck again, presses the heel of her hand to Kara’s clit as her index finger runs up and down the wet gusset of Kara’s underwear. She grinds her heel a little harder, in lazy circles and Kara’s hips start to move of their own accord, following the press of Lena’s hand. Kara can feel a throbbing deep in the pit of her stomach, hot and wanting and it dips low and sharp as Lena’s hand slips deftly _underneath_ the fabric of Kara’s underwear.

Her fingers are so warm but there’s no pressure anymore, there’s only the slip-slide of exploration as Lena dips lower to wet her fingers at Kara’s opening. Kara’s keenly aware of how wet she is now, how easily Lena’s fingers are gliding through her folds and she feels Lena’s breath against her neck.

“Fuck, Kara,” Lena exhales.

She sounds like she says something else but all Kara can really focus on is how Lena’s just passed a finger over her clit and how the world has started to blur at the edges. Kara shuts her eyes, can hear herself whimpering as Lena starts to pay attention to her clit, two fingers working in gentle circles. The build-up doesn’t take long, Kara’s body is so full to bursting that she’s clutching the sheets almost as soon as Lena’s free hands slides up to cup her breast. Kara can see the edge, a rim of white light, and she’s ready to rocket right towards the horizon but that’s not how this can work. She needs to fall, needs to let herself succumb to gravity and so she listens. She closes her eyes tighter, pushes out the sound of her own breath, of her own heartbeat pounding in her ears and she finds Lena’s, steady and sure thumping against her own back. She hones in on it just as she hits the edge, as Lena’s fingers press and circle and then Kara sees white and _falls_.

Her body is still tight, the muscles in her thighs contracting along with her abdomen and she’s clutching at Lena’s sheets but not enough to rip or tear, just enough to feel the threads against the pads of her fingers. And Lena’s whispering in her ear, something calming probably but Kara’s still falling, falling and falling as Lena strokes out the last of her orgasm with a steady hand.

“Good, Kara, that’s great. You’re doing so good.” Kara hears once she’s back to earth, hips twitching reflexively as Lena’s fingers slip against her clit softly.

Kara hums a response and she hears Lena laugh, feels the hot breath of it against her ear followed by a kiss to the skin just behind it.

“You didn’t break anything,” Lena laughs, kissing a little lower to Kara’s nape again. “I’m proud of you.”

“Thank you,” Kara slurs, breathing out a hot huff of air against her own chest as her head falls forward.

“No, thank _you_ ,” Lena says against the skin of Kara’s shoulder, kissing it again, “that was well worth the wait.”

She’s still kind of tingly all over. Remnant static bolts of electricity shooting to her nerve endings as she shifts upward, righting herself as Lena finally pulls her hand free from Kara’s underwear to hug her round the middle.

“I’m going to make you dinner,” she says matter-of-factly with another kiss to Kara’s shoulder, “because you did so well today.”

“What?”

“I can’t tell you, it’s going to be a surprise.”

“No— I mean, why are you, because I?”

“Gave me three orgasms,” Lena answers for her, “do you think I shouldn’t reward you for that?”

“Oh.” A smile spreads onto Kara’s lips, wide and prideful. “I have never turned down free food in my entire life.”

“Good.” Lena’s arms loosen and then she’s shifting up towards the headboard, distancing herself just enough from Kara so she can scoot free. Kara moves a little for her, watches with rapt attention as Lena, in all her naked glory, rises from the bed. Her hair’s loose at her back, a wave of black satin swinging against her damp skin as she stands and turns to Kara. She reaches up to brush a lock behind her ear, “I’m going to shower then run to the store.”

“Can I _also_ shower and run to the store?” Kara asks sweetly.

“No to the latter, it’s still a surprise,” Lena starts then she’s turning towards the bathroom. She takes a few steps forward but stops in the doorway and looks over her shoulder, “and yes to the former, but only if you promise to behave.”

Kara’s up off the bed, three fingers placed over her heart, “Scout’s honor.”

Lena rolls her eyes, shakes her head. “Uh huh, come on.”

 

\---

 

Kara’s still in her towel by the time Lena’s dressed and out the door. She behaved herself but Lena most certainly did not and Kara decides a nice catnap might help her gain a little more feeling back in her legs. The cache of clothes she keeps at Lena’s has dwindled to one set of pajamas: a pair of joggers and a henley that Lena has said, on many occasions, makes Kara look handsome. She pulls everything on then lays her towel against the pillows and flops down unceremoniously onto the mess of Lena’s bed.

It feels a little empty without Lena in it but it smells like her still, but it smells likes sex too and something familiar twitches deep in Kara’s stomach. Maybe the couch would be a safer place for a catnap.

The location change brings a little more light and an echo of the city from an open window but it also brings a breeze that smells like fall. Kara settles onto the couch with her towel under her wet hair again and closes her eyes, focuses on the whistle of the breeze and the feel of sunlight tickling at her toes.

Lena’s back before Kara even realizes she’s fallen asleep.

“Hey sleepyhead,” Lena calls out from behind her.

Kara’s turned to face the back of the couch, nose pressed to the fabric and arms tucked up to her chest. She opens her eyes slowly, turns to find Lena placing a bag on the kitchen counter. “Hey,” Kara’s voice is already groggy, she wonders how long she actually slept.

“You have a good nap?”

“I think so.”

“You think so?”

“I don’t remember falling asleep.”

Lena laughs as she pulls out a pack of tomatoes, setting it alongside a carton of eggs. “Did you dream of me?”

“Probably,” Kara answers, finally sitting up to get a better look at what Lena’s bought. There’s a bundle of spinach maybe next to the eggs and beside it a small collection of cheeses. “What are you gonna make?”

“Still a secret,” Lena tuts, index finger pressed to her lips, “but you’ll find out soon enough. It’ll be hard to hide after a certain point.”

“Can I help?”

“No, I’m making _you_ dinner, Kara. You’re not allowed to help.”

“Not even a little?”

Lena shakes her head, “Not even a little.”

“Then what am I supposed to do?”

“You could always take another nap.”

“I can’t nap now that you’re here.”

“Why not?”

“If I’m asleep I can’t watch you cook.”

Lena laughs low in her throat and leans over to tap at the far side of the counter next to the closest bar stool. “You’ll have a much better view from up here.”

Kara untangles herself from the blanket draped over her legs and runs a hand through her hair, trying to settle whatever half-damp menace it’s become during her nap. She apparently manages only to tame part of it because Lena laughs again when she glances up as Kara sits down. Kara smooths it out again, combs through with her fingers and wrangles it into a braid, leaving the end loose.

Lena’s gotten rid of her bags, is shuffling around getting out various bowls and cleaning the surface of the counter with a little water she quickly wipes up with a clean towel. She washes her own hands too, clears out a little bit more space then starts dumping flour on the countertop.

She makes a big circle of flour, leaving a clean bit of counter space in the middle and within it she cracks a couple eggs and some bonus yolks then starts whisking. Once the whisking is complete she goes in with her hands, pushes her sleeves up to her elbows first then she’s carefully mixing in the flour with the egg. It’s the messiest Kara has ever seen her, fingers sticky with dough that starts runny and eventually evens out into something reasonably manageable. Kara’s entranced by the whole process, is pitched forward, elbows on the counter and chin in both hands watching as Lena works the dough. Lena uses some weird scraper to loosen the dough from the counter then starts kneading it in earnest, pressing firmly into the mass with the palm of her hand then turning it and pressing again. It’s a rhythmic circular motion: Lena pressing, turning, pressing again and the muscles in her forearm flex with every press and Kara gets a flash memory of the last time she saw Lena’s forearm flex like that, blushes hot all the way to her ears.

“Having fun?”

It takes Kara a second to recognize the sound of Lena’s voice, another two to realize Lena’s asked her a question. She looks up with raised eyebrows, nodding her head, “you’re really good at this.”

“At kneading dough? It’s more about repetition than skill.”

“But you’re very good at it.”

“I’ve always been good with my hands,” Lena answers with a wink and Kara’s blushing again, right up to her ears. “I can’t believe making you blush is so easy.”

Kara chokes on her own tongue, laughs her way out of it and shakes her head. “No, I’m not— you are sadly mistaken.”

“And _you_ are just about the worst liar I’ve ever met.”

“I can lie when I need to!” Kara defends, eyebrows furrowed and index finger at a point.

“I’ll believe it when I see it, Danvers.”

Then Lena’s turning around to grab some plastic wrap from the drawer and wrapping up her parcel of dough. She smooths out some bubbles and then sets it off to the side before turning for the stove. There’s a pan set on top already and she flicks a burner onto medium heat, turns to the fridge to fetch the sausage Kara had missed earlier. The meat is turned loose on the pan with a little oil, split up with a spatula then left to its own devices as Lena pulls out a pot and sets to cooking the spinach.

“Can I help?”

“What did I say earlier?”

“No.”

“So the answer is still?”

“No,” Kara pouts as she slouches to cross her forearms on the counter and set her chin atop them. Lena doesn’t turn around, is still working in front of the stove shuffling this and that. The kitchen is starting to smell delectable and Kara hadn’t realized how hungry she was but her stomach has started to awaken from its lunch-induced slumber with low gurgles for attention. “Lena?”

Lena hums an answer as she takes the pot to the sink, draining the spinach. She runs cold water over it then starts wringing it out with her hands.

“When did you learn to cook?”

“College,” Lena starts, setting the spinach in a bowl then shuffling back to the stove to check on the sausage, “it’s hard to live in Paris and not learn to cook, really.”

“Of course,” Kara nods because honestly _of course_ Lena learned to cook in Paris.

Lena turns around with a raised eyebrow and a little smirk that looks a lot less menacing than Lena probably wants it to be. Kara beams a smile at her and Lena just shakes her head, turns back around. “I was dating a girl who worked in a kitchen, low on the totem pole, she’d just been promoted to prep from dish washer and she was ecstatic.” Lena tips the sausage pan the drain the fat, turns off the burner then moves to pull out her mixer.

“I only saw her once a week if I was lucky,” Lena ducks down to a bottom cabinet and reappears with something akin to a metal crank, Kara can’t quite tell what it is. “But she would cook for me, cheaper versions of dishes she’d learned to make at the restaurant and she taught me while she cooked.” Kara doesn’t think she knows this girl, is only vaguely familiar with Lena’s dating life in college because, as Lena has admitted, she was “a little all over the place”. There’s something different about the way Lena talks about her though, a reverence maybe, a longing in her voice that’s sitting a little funny in Kara’s chest.

“What happened to her?”

“Oh,” Lena turns back to Kara, sets both hands over the mound of dough, cradling it, “she moved away. It was— _sudden_ and I didn’t get to say goodbye.”

It’s definitely longing, Kara knows that tone, and the funny feeling in Kara’s chest is getting a little hot and spiky. “If she didn’t say goodbye, she wasn’t worth your time.”

Lena looks up, a smile creeping in at the corners of her mouth, “Kara, could you, by any chance, be jealous?”

Kara shoots upright, immediately on the defensive, shoulders back, head already shaking. “No, that’s, you’re hilarious.”

“Uh huh,” Lena nods. “Gabrielle was also a _great_ kisser you know.”

Kara’s face immediately scrunches up, “You can’t just, that’s, you’re being mean.”

“Mean?” Lena looks mock offended, flutters her eyelashes dramatically and turns her head to look wistfully into the distance. “I was just recalling the wonderful time I spent in Paris with a beautiful French girl in my kitchen,” Lena turns to make eye contact with Kara, “and in my bed.”

“ _Lena_ ,” Kara whines.

“So you _are_ jealous?”

Kara frowns, bows her head to look at the countertop and mumbles, “yes.”

Lena’s chuckling as she rounds the kitchen counter, sidling up to Kara and turning her stool. She nestles quickly in-between Kara’s knees and brings a hand to Kara’s chin to tilt her head up. “I don’t think I like you jealous,” she says after a beat. She brings another hand up to press a thumb to the crinkle between Kara’s brows, smoothing it out gently then she’s leaning in and kissing Kara. The tension in Kara’s body dissipates as a small rush of endorphins hits her system. She leans forward into the kiss, sets her hands carefully on Lena’s hips and Lena kisses her again, a little harder. She’s smiling against Kara’s mouth when she pulls back, “I promise I’ll play nice from now on.”

“Good,” Kara mumbles against Lena’s mouth as she shifts forward to kiss her again, squeezing a little at her hips.

“But,” Lena says, leaning back after another quick kiss, “now I have to get back to cooking.”

“Are you sure?”

“Are _you_ sure you don’t want me to?” Lena answers, a hand reaching down to pat at Kara’s stomach which gurgles in response. “I know it’s been a few hours since you’ve eaten.”

“Food,” Kara jokes and Lena’s mouth opens in mock offense again.

“Kara Danvers, you dirty scoundrel.” Lena presses in again and kisses Kara soundly enough that Kara’s a little out of breath when Lena steals away around the counter again.

Then she’s immediately back to the dough, unwrapping and cutting it into four sections. She pulls one out, rewraps the remaining bits and then starts in with the rolling pin. She rolls and rolls, Kara once again entranced by the flex of her forearms until the dough’s flat then she’s picking it up and taking it to the mixer and, “are you making pasta?”

“Get the girl a prize,” Lena jokes as she starts feeding the dough through what Kara has now realized is a pasta maker.

“Really?”

“You’re lucky I still remember how to make it.” The dough is returned to the counter and Lena does some folding and more rolling then it’s back to the pasta maker for another go. Then Lena gets a nice little rhythm again, folding, rolling, pressing and each time the pasta comes back to the counter it’s thinner and thinner. By the fourth run through it’s so long it looks like it’s going to split down the middle and drop to the floor as Lena brings it over and Kara rushes around the side of the counter just in time the catch the split pieces in both hands.

“Shit,” Lena mumbles as she shifts with Kara to set the flattened dough on the parchment-lined baking sheet she’d just set out a time before. “Well, now I know where to stop.”

“You’re _sure_ I can’t help?”

“I’ll tell you what,” Lena says. She turns to the counter and starts smoothing out a few bunched places in the dough, covers it up with a towel. “I’ll let you stick around for this part but as soon as we’re done you’re back to the stool.”

“Aye, aye, captain,” Kara answers with a small salute.

Lena shakes her head but leans up to press a kiss to Kara’s cheek, “at ease, sailor.”

The pasta flattening goes much smoother with an extra set of hands but it takes at least a half hour for them to get through all the dough Lena’s made. When the final sheets are set on the trays Lena shoos Kara back to her seat with a pat on the butt and another kiss on the cheek then she’s a woman possessed. It takes Kara a few minutes to realize exactly what Lena’s making but once she starts mixing up what Kara realizes is filling Kara excitedly shouts, “ravioli!”

Lena looks up at her with a wide smile, “another prize for the lady.”

She takes her time with each set, carefully spoons out the filling, brushes on egg yolk as glue then presses the dough sheet closed and uses what Kara can only assume is a pizza cutter designed specifically to cut ravioli to cut the pieces into shape. A few sets in she puts on a big pot of salted water to boil and mixes up this great tomato concoction that smells like garlic and basil and balsamic vinegar. It takes another half hour before the pasta is all finished then they’re in the water, cooking only a couple minutes until Lena fishes them out.

“Plates?” Lena asks as she finishes fishing out the rest of the pasta.

Kara rounds the counter quick as lightning, pulls out the biggest plates she can find and sets them down on the counter just in time for Lena to start setting on the ravioli. Kara’s plate, unsurprisingly, gets filled double as much as Lena’s and as she plates up their dinner Kara takes the liberty of pouring Lena a big glass of wine.

When she presents the glass, sliding it onto the counter, just in Lena’s line of sight, Lena turns to her with a smile and leans into Kara’s front a little. She tilts her head up, kissing Kara sweetly. “I have trained you well,” she jokes.

“Ha ha,” Kara answers with an eyeroll but she kisses Lena again.

Kara carries their plates over to the dining table, waits until Lena is actually seated before taking her first bite and it’s _heavenly_. Kara is moaning through her mouthful, both elbows on the table, fork still in her mouth and eyes closed and really, it’s perfect.

“This is the best thing I’ve ever eaten in my entire life,” Kara mumbles around her mouthful.

“You said that about the Thai curry we had two weeks ago,” Lena answers.

Kara’s already shoved four more ravioli in her mouth, takes a second to chew them a little before speaking again. “No, I mean it this time, these are just, this is insanely delicious and you are amazing.”

“Speaking of,” Lena raises her wine glass. “Cheers to your amazing learning curve.”

Kara’s blushing again, she can feel it hot in her cheeks but Lena winks at her and smiles so Kara smiles back, clinks her water with Lena’s wine.

Dinner is, like every meal Kara has ever eaten, half quiet face stuffing and half ego stroking for the chef. She gets up for a second round before Lena’s even finished half her own plate but that’s par for the course and Lena doesn’t bat an eye. When they’ve _both_ finished up Kara’s the one who clears the table, she brings dishes to the sink, rinses and wipes, starts stacking things in the dishwasher and by the time it’s full and set to run Lena’s put on a record and nestled herself into the couch with another glass of wine. Kara wipes her wet hands on a towel and joins her, immediately laying down to set her head in Lena’s lap. Lena’s got a hand in her hair as soon as she’s down and Kara closes her eyes, focuses on the gentle scratch of Lena’s nails against her scull.

“Thank you for dinner,” Kara says softly.

“Thank you for three orgasms,” Lena counters.

Kara laughs gently, brings a hand up to rest against Lena’s thigh. Lena’s heartbeat is steady when Kara finds it, an easy thump in her ears. It’s got a nice, calming rhythm and Kara lets out a breath, feels her whole body start to relax. The tension drops from her shoulders again, the muscles in her back loosen, her hips settle into the couch. Lena keeps combing her fingers through Kara’s hair and Kara almost feels weightless now, grounded only by Lena’s heartbeat and the pressure at her scalp.

It’s new, this quiet calm.

Kara’s experienced something similar to it before, in Kal-El’s snowy fortress: the gentle creaking of ice, whistling winds tucked away behind thick, frozen walls. But Kara’s always felt a sense of unease when she’s there in the quiet, alone with her thoughts, with memories of Krypton that Kal-El doesn’t share. He thrives on that solitude, on being able to escape the world to recharge but Kara likes a little background noise, just enough to remind her that she’s not alone. And now, with soft music in the background and Lena’s heartbeat familiar in her ears Kara’s thinks this moment might be her new happy place.

“I love you, you know.” Kara whispers, voice only just loud enough to be heard over the music. It’s not a new revelation, it’s weeks old, months maybe and she thinks Lena already knows but Kara feels so settled, so comfortable that she needs Lena to hear it.

Lena’s heart actually skips a beat. Kara hears it. One thump, then another in rapid succession and the hand in Kara’s hair jolts a little too but it doesn’t stop moving. This isn’t fear, Kara knows that much at least. The silence between them feels more like surprise, like Lena wasn’t expecting it but even then, her answer comes only seconds later like she didn’t need any time at all to process. Her voice is sure, even as she mimics Kara’s whisper, “I love you too, Kara.”

And Kara feels those words like a ray of sunshine, warming her from top to toe. She turns, shifting to lay face up so she can look at Lena’s. Her eyes are still bright despite the dimming light and the corners of her lips are gently upturned in a small smile. “Good,” Kara whispers again, turning another ninety degrees to press her face into Lena’s stomach and nuzzling gently.

Lena chuckles as she starts stroking Kara’s hair again and Kara falls asleep with a full stomach and a full heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Am I happy with the ending?? Not entirely but I have a tendency to over-edit so I kind of just let it be lest I fucked it up. Hope you enjoyed and sorry again if I made you hungry, my bad.


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